#Winterskin

Hi all,

Canadians love to talk about weather. I have to admit, I'm finding that I am one of those people as I get a bit older. I couldn't have cared less about the weather 10 years ago, but now, I am experiencing the weather. #Winterskin.

I'll be using the hashtag #winterskin all winter on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ so that you can search for it and find any other items I find that work for the season's effect on our beautiful over thirty skin.

Dealing with #winterskin in the shower or bath
A few days into winter coming to town earlier this month, I started waking up in the middle of the night scratching myself all over my body. This is a nightmare scenario, and it had to be dealt with. I tried my regular Nivea SOS lotion for very dry skin, which promises 24 hours of moisture. Not even close. This was my clue to start exfoliating or "dry brushing."

If you've never exfoliated your body, I highly recommend this video on dry brushing. Instead of a brush, I use a glove, but the principles are the same. Do it once or twice a week in your shower or tub before showering (or tubbing!), and remember to brush toward your heart. I then use a shower cream that is ultra-moisturizing. The glove and shower cream combination I use:



The glove is a no-name that I purchased at Beddington's, but that I'm sure an equivalent can be found in any store like Bed, Bath and Beyond or Target, etc.

The shower cream is the Life Brand equivalent of the Aveeno Skin Relief Body Wash. I highly recommend if you suffer from itchy skin due to dryness like me.

Moisturizing for #winterskin
Nivea SOS Repair and Care Body Lotion has always worked for me in the past, and I recommend it if your skin is dry, but not itchy. Itchy, dry skin is a whole other battle. I tried an argan oil-based product, but it was not enough. I shaved my legs with EOS' new shave lotion (good stuff, nice vanilla scent) which helped, but my whole body is a problem, not just my legs.

I purchased two different shea butter-based moisturizers to compare and contrast with you all in mind. I then exfoliated, showered and slathered each on half of myself to test. I bought:

The Body Shoppe's Shea Body Butter (% shea unknown, but it is fair trade shea from a woman-supporting enterprise in Ghana) (400mL, $15CAD on sale, $30CAD regular price) (Did you guys know that L'Oréal bought The Body Shoppe? I didn't. Hm.)


L'Occitane Creme Ultra Riche Corps/Ultra Rich Body Cream 25% Shea Butter (200mL, $40CAD on sale, $48CAD regular price)


Choosing a winner here is near impossible. Both do exactly what they say on the tin, and I got at least 36 hours of relief with both of these creams. I found I needed less of the L'Occitane cream, which is a good thing because it's more than double the price (when both are on sale) and half the amount of The Body Shoppe (TBS) cream. I liked the smell of TBS product better, it's nutty and mild whereas the L'Occitane has a scent very much like a Nivea or Jergens moisturizer, i.e. a bit chemical-smelling.

Really, both are excellent products for my #winterskin. If money were no object, I would re-purchase the L'Occitane cream because I like the company and I know there is 25% shea butter in the product. Also, L'Occitane tweeted to me that their shea is sourced from a fair trade partnership with over 15,000 women in Burkina Faso. Finally, knowing that L'Oréal owns TBS makes me leery, actually.

However, not everyone can afford the L'Occitane, so I'll recommend TBS Shea Body Butter based purely on price per ounce and a less chemically-scented product. But know how hard a choice this was to make, friends!

Til next time,
Amanda

1000!

Hi all,

1000 people have viewed this page, and I'm SO excited about it. I thought this would be a little blog for me and my friends, but 1000 people!

Visitors to Beauty Over Thirty have mostly looked at the 5 Ingredient Look and Basic Face. I will continue in that vein, making videos and writing posts and reviews for busy women who want to enhance their beauty with a little bit of makeup, a little more fashion, a little extra fun.

I want to tell you what I've got on my BOT to-do list, and I'd love your feedback on what you want to see from BOT. Coming up, I'll be writing and making videos about:

• Colour correcting - a lot of us have developed redness, sallow skin on our faces and discolouration around our eyes as we've gotten a bit older. I'm researching how the pros do colour correcting and what products they use. 
• Spring fashion update - I'm going to do a summary (with pictures!) of what the trends for fashion are going to be in Spring 2015, as shown in recent fashion weeks around the world. I'm talking about ready-to-wear fashion, not couture! We have professions to dress for!
• Common ingredients in skincare - A few months ago, I did a lot of research into skincare to develop my own routine for my own needs, and right now I'm in the middle of looking for a new serum as mine is about to run out. I've found that knowing the ingredients in cleansers, serums, moisturizers and treatments that do what you want is the key to success. I'm going to write about what ingredients do what and how to look for them in your skincare choices. 
• Information sources - I know you don't get all of your beauty info from me! I want to give you a rundown of what sources I've found the most reliable and which sources can be kicked to the curb. 
• The cost of beauty - This post will be a while down the road as I get more information gathered, but I want to talk to you about how beauty doesn't have to be costly, and building on the common ingredients posts, how you can recognize when a product is overpriced for what is in it. 
• And of course, I'll be filming more 5-ingredient looks, nighttime looks that take a bit longer and use a few more products and reviews galore! I have a growing list of products to test - I've just done a test of Maybelline's 14-hour lipsticks and, spoiler alert, there is no reason (other than THE HYPE) for this product to be flying off the shelves in the drugstore. 

As always, I shall do my very best to research and learn and pass on good, reliable information about beauty.  I swear, this winter has been awful for my own skin - I've been waking up scratching myself in the middle of the night. As I write this, I have two different very dry skin (aka winter skin!) moisturizers on each half of my body so that I can pass on which works best and how to relieve winter skin dryness and itching. I'm also trying to learn to take better pics!

Thank you all for coming over to BOT, reading a bit, watching a bit, and maybe learning a bit. Don't forget to comment, share, all that stuff so that BOT can reach the next goal - 5000!

Til next time,

Amanda

All About Lips!

Helloooo pretty!
(can anyone tell me what Doctor Who episode "Helloooo pretty!" is from? Bonus points if you can!)

It is ghastly and cold here in Toronto at the moment, and along with a request or two, these are the reasons I have recorded the following video all about lips!

Watch to see my favourite lip care products that are widely available. I also give a basics tutorial on lip lining and lipstick application. Check it out:

Finally, a decent thumbnail.

Here are the products I mentioned:

For Exfoliation:

• ELF Lip Exfoliator ($4CAD at Target)
• Make your own scrub with 1tbsp olive oil and enough white sugar to make a paste; store in the refrigerator. 

I know of at least two other lip scrubs. Frankly, the BITE lip scrub is basically cherry-flavoured chapstick with microbeads that do absolutely nothing to really exfoliate and at $21CAD, there is no reason to buy it. I don't have any experience with the Fresh lip scrub, so let me know what you think if you've used it. It better be a miracle for $26CAD for 0.6oz!

Night Treatment:

• Dr. Lipp Original Nipple Balm for Lips is cruelty-free! Yay!
• Lansinoh Nipple Balm (also available at drugstores)
• BITE Agave Lip Mask At $30CAD for 0.52oz, I think most people can pass on this and use either Dr. Lipp or Lansinoh. 

Lip Liners:

• Rimmel Moisture Renew Universal Lip Liner (001 Universal) is available at drugstores where Rimmel is carried; most drugstore brands offer a transparent lip liner. It's made out of Shea Butter and is not a petroleum product. 
• MAC Prolongwear Lip Liner in Absolutely It

Lipstick is MAC Satin Finish Lipstick in Amorous

Have a great day!
Amanda

BOT Video! Basic Face Makeup

Hellllooo!

I have been working on this video for a few days, and most of the trouble has been with recording a voiceover. I am learning so much about making videos, building the site, connecting to the social media channels and trying to produce good, relevant content. I highly appreciate any feedback or suggestions you have, perhaps you've seen some of these thing done really well on another blog. Send me links and I will check them out and apply any best practices to make this site and its associated channels your go-to place to learn about beauty as you (and I!) experiences changes associated with getting a bit older and a little wiser both personally and professionally. 

Without further ado, here is Beauty Over Thirty: Face Makeup 

(UGH! YouTube chooses Horrifying thumbnails!)

Over time (or so I'm told), the time it takes for me to do this will get shorter. I'll post a new video when I've got it down to five minutes. 

I can't say this enough: when it comes to getting colour matched for foundation (the first step in finding your holy grail foundation), go to your nearest MAC standalone store or counter in your department store. I have never found a better way of shade matching, not even the Sephora thingy /sarcasm. I say why in the video ;) Here's what you can do:

1. Tell the artists (staff) nicely in the store or at the counter that you are looking for your holy grail foundation and it is essential that you get matched to MAC's system. They will be delighted to help you out. 
2. Tell your artist what kind of skin you have, e.g. oily, combination, normal, dry, etc. Your skin type matters a good deal in matching you to the right line. 
3. Tell your artist if you are looking for a liquid or powder foundation. This comes down to preference. I love liquid foundations, but I think that's because I just don't have a lot of experience with powders. If you don't have a preference, get the artist to try both!
4. Make sure they try at least one shade in each of their product lines (Studio Sculpt, Prolongwear, Studio Fix, etc). The first time I went to go through this at a MAC counter the artist only tries one shade in one product. Not good. 
5. Th artist will apply each product on your face where the jawline meets the neck. This is to make sure the shade is the right match not to your face (I didn't know this a month ago) BUT to your neck/chest. Neck particularly is your real skin tone. 
6. It will become obvious which one is a match to you under the atrocious makeup store/counter lighting. Run outside with a mirror and see if it works in real light. Doing this would've saved me a second trip.
7. Give your artist feedback and keep testing in store until you have a good match or two. Ask for a sample (which comes in a small plastic clamshell pot, like your paint came in when you were 5) of each match to take home. My artist not only gave me the foundation sample, but also a sample of Strobe cream (does anyone have experience with this? What is it supposed to do?) and a few mascara samples. Neat!
8. Use the samples over the next week and you should have a finalist within a few days. You can then go back to MAC and buy the matching shade OR... (here comes magique...!)
9. You can go to Sephora, Shoppers, local boutiques...anywhere that sells the foundation brand you like (perhaps by formula or coverage or weight). Tell the cosmetician or "Cast Member" (Sephora) what MAC shade you are and they should be able to pick out a fairly close match in your preferred brand; maybe a shade off, but definitely in the right vicinity. 
10. At Sephora (not sure about elsewhere...let me know if you know please!) you can ask for samples of as many foundations as you want. All you have to do is tell them your MAC shade and that you want to try some other brands. 
11. If the Cast Member offers the Sephora SkinIQ, I would politely with a stern face say "no thanks" and ask for samples of matches to your MAC shade in the brands you want. I got Guerlain, Make Up For Ever and Hourglass samples and they are simply divine. 
12. Alternately, you can check the Temptalia Foundation Matrix for your highest rated matches, take a trip to Sephora, get a few samples of Temptalia matches, and bob's your uncle! You are well on your way to finding your holy grail. Woot!

PRODUCT LIST

• Benefit "The Porefessional" balm for pores
• Smashbox Photo Finish Primer in Colour Correct & Adjust (green, travel size is much more economical!)
• MAC Prolongwear Foundation in NW15
• Benefit "Hoola" bronzer
• Chanel Joues Contraste in 59 Imprévu
• Guerlain Les Météorites in 02 Clair

I hope you enjoyed the video. Please give me some feedback about what kind of videos you want to see, if you know some blogs that are seriously kicking bum at this stuff...Bam! Learning!